HOLLYWOOD heart-throb Jude Law could be filming in Macclesfield if rumours are true he is to play the title role in a film about tragic Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.

Producers of the biopic say they have lined up a "huge name" to play the lead role.

And ex-Joy Division star Peter Hook says he believes 32-year-old Law, who was in Manchester to film a remake of Alfie last year, is the front-runner to play the role of Curtis.

Ian Curtis, who went to King's School, lived at 77 Barton Street, Macclesfield during the Joy Division era, and did much of his writing there.

He lived there with his wife Deborah, who he married at St Thomas's Church, Henbury, on August 23, 1975.

It was also the house where he hanged himself on May 18, 1980. He was only 23.

He was cremated at Macclesfield Crematorium on May 23, 1980, and a memorial stone erected by his widow bears the words Love Will Tear Us Apart - the title of Joy Division's most famous track.

US-based production company Claraflora is producing the as-yet-untitled film. It is based on the book Touching From A Distance, written by Curtis's widow Deborah.

Producer Todd Eckert would only say that the company was talking to an actor who was "huge" and also bore a physical resemblance to Curtis.

The guessing game to identify the actor who will take the role in the Manchester-based production is now in full swing.

Eckert gave one further clue to his identity by saying the actor in question has just finished a couple of films and the only music he listened to was Joy Division and New Order.

Hook, the bass guitarist who formed Joy Division with Curtis in 1976, said: "The whisper I've heard is that Jude Law will probably play the role. It's not a bad choice."

"The film is being made by Hollywood, but what's important is that they get the story right."

Other possible contenders for the role could be Irish-born bad boy actor Colin Farrell, Star Wars heart-throb Ewan McGregor or Mancunian Max Beesley, from Burnage.

But Hook said he didn't think any of them would be suitable for the role.

Eckert told the BBC: "We are speaking with an actor who is huge and looks rather a lot like Ian. He has just finished a couple of films in which the only thing he listened to was Joy Division and New Order."

"Should this guy ultimately agree that he is going to play Ian, it would make it a much bigger film. Ian Curtis is one of the most important figures in the history of music."

Producers say the film would be made in Manchester but the question is whether they will use the authentic locations in Macclesfield where Ian Curtis spent much of his short life.